


A Thousand Years (Or At Least Fifteen)

by FenyxNyteRyder



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, M/M, PrUK Secret Santa, ftm trans prussia, suave england
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-01
Updated: 2017-01-01
Packaged: 2018-09-13 19:04:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9137353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FenyxNyteRyder/pseuds/FenyxNyteRyder
Summary: After fifteen years since the last time that they had seen each other, Arthur and Gilbert meet once again at the reception of a wedding. Time has caused a lot of changes over the years and made some things almost unrecognizable in its path, but it seems as though some things will never change.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Gift for @dimwalnut for the @prukevents 2016 Secret Santa Exchange.
> 
> Prompt: One of them asking the other on a date for the first time

“Gilbert, mi amigo! It’s been forever!” Antonio exclaimed, quick to envelope the unsuspecting albino into a crushing hug and nearly sending the white-haired male’s drink sloshing to the floor from where Gilbert stood at the banquet table.

 

“Eyyy, Tonio! Wie geht’s?” Gilbert responded, hastily pushing the drink off to his brother Ludwig to hold for him as he quickly embraced the Spaniard, giving him a light punch to the shoulder when they finally pulled away from each other. “Gott, you don’t even look like you’ve changed any since high school. Or college.”

 

“And you! You look like a completely different person. Like you actually feel comfortable in your skin for once, hm?” Antonio gave Gilbert a wink before turning to look Ludwig up and down, green eyes sparkling in amusement. “And your younger brother certainly grew up well, eh? Last time that we saw each other, I could’ve sworn that he didn’t even come up to my shoulder. Time sure does change things. I heard that you managed to graduate with a doctorate already, Ludwig. Congratulations!”

 

Ludwig flushed lightly in response, sipping at the glass of champagne in his hand as Antonio patted his shoulder. “Ja, well, it wasn’t easy.”

 

“Nein, Lud’s a natural genius! He can do absolutely anything that he sets his mind to!” Gilbert glanced around suspiciously before leaning forward to speak to Antonio in a feigned whisper. “Except for asking Feliciano out on a date. Luddy can’t romance to save his life!”

 

“Gilbert!”

 

Ignoring Ludwig’s protests, Antonio and Gilbert snickered, quickly making their way away from the blushing German as they attempted to blend in with the rest of the reception crowd. “Man, it really is good to see you though, Toni. Did you finally manage to get together with Lovino after all these years? Oh! Where’s Francey-pants? Did he come here with you? We need the trio here al--”

 

“Did someone ask for  _ moi _ ?” the Frenchman suddenly asked from where he was leaning against the nearby wall, holding the red rose between his fingers to his lips, sending the pair his signature wink.

 

And it never failed that whenever two of the trio were around the third was soon to follow and join in with the rest. They had been inseparable all throughout middle school and up through their high school years. Francis and Antonio were really the first ones that had ended up truly accepting Gilbert’s choices and lifestyle before he managed to go through with the operations and hormone replacements. They were the first ones that ever really made him feel at home and welcome as his true self.

 

“Franny!” Gilbert exclaimed, all but leaping into the Frenchman’s arms. “Haha! I knew you’d end up showing up.”

 

“Oui, but of course~” Francis murmured with a grin, smoothing his hair out of his face before patting Gilbert’s shoulder. “I never miss a wedding. Especially one where I end up making the cake.” The blonde paused for a moment before grinning and wrapping an arm around Antonio. “Of course, I can’t take all of the credit since Tonio’s the one who ended up helping me design it in the first place.”

 

“Sí, sí! All of the cakes that we’ve been making at the shop have been  _ muy bien _ . Business has been booming ever since we decided to partner up. We’ve even had to expand and hire a couple to end up helping with orders so that we wouldn’t end up being covered up with so much work,” Antonio explained, nodding his head in thought as he leaned into the arm that Francis had wrapped around him, reaching over to one of the snack tables and grabbing another glass of wine.

 

“Really?” Gilbert raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest. “Well, colour me impressed. Und surprised. You two never told me that you were working together? Who did you two end up hiring anyways?”

 

“Ah, well, we did want it to end up being a bit of a surprise that we’re together, oui?” Francis stated, stealing a sip of wine from Antonio’s glass. “Anyways, you remember Matthew, yes?” 

 

“Alfred’s older half-brother and your distant cousin on like… What was it? His mother’s side? The one that used to always come by our club room and make pancakes for us in high school?” Gilbert asked around a mouthful of hors d'oeuvres. “You hired him?”

 

“Oui, and not only that, but we hired Kiku too. Apparently the two had gotten married soon after finishing college around ten years or so ago. So the two are practically like family to me, and naturally with talents like theirs, I just couldn’t  _ not _ hire them,” Francis explained, as though it made the most natural of sense. In his mind, it probably did.

 

“Oh mein Gott. Kiku actually got married?” Gilbert coughed into the back of his hand, arching an eyebrow. “He never seemed like the type to actually get together with someone, since he always seemed so...isolated from everyone else besides Lud and Feli, and sometimes Alfred and--”

 

“Ah~ But anyone can tell that these two are in love by just looking at the way that they look at each other…” Francis murmured, placing a fingertip and pressing it against Gilbert’s chin, guiding the albino German to turn his head and gaze at where the couple was dancing together on the middle of the reception hall’s dance floor, violet and chocolate gazes unable to look away from one another with gentle smiles on their faces. “Wouldn’t you agree?”

 

Gilbert remained silent for a few moments, merely watching the couple swaying together to the music, other couples including the newlyweds slowly making their way to the floor.

 

“I guess you’re right, Francis… Man, I still can’t believe that Alfred got married to that Russian guy. He always ended up giving me the creeps all throughout high school, but…” Gilbert trailed off, a bittersweet smile on his lips that he attempted to hide behind a wine glass. “They seem happy together, so I guess I don’t really have the right to complain, ja?”

 

Antonio chuckled softly, the Spaniard and Frenchman patting the third of their trio on the back. “That’s the spirit, amigo.”

 

The German grunted, staring down at the wine glass with a quiet grumble before his eyes widened, suddenly piecing together something that his two friends had mentioned earlier in their gossip. Red eyes quickly glanced between the pair, confusion evident across his features. “Wait, wait, wait. Hold the fuck up. You two are together. Like,  _ together _ together? What the fuck!? I thought Francis was in a relationship with Arthur? I mean, the last time that I checked...?”

 

Francis and Antonio shared a look before shrugging, a small grimace on the blonde’s face. “Ah, yes, well, things didn’t necessarily...quite work out that well between us, and we had ended up...quietly ending the relationship the last year of high school. After all, I couldn’t simply stand by and watch my best friend suffer from heartache, oui?” Francis murmured with a sympathetic pat to Gilbert’s cheek that was soon flushed crimson.

 

“Please, it’s not like I--”

 

Antonio quickly interrupted. “Amigo, por favor. You know you cannot argue with Francis when it comes to  _ amor _ . Besides, I’m sure at least half the school knew that you had a crush on Arthur anyways, so it’s not that big of a deal, sí? After all, it was fifteen years ago, and Arthur’s probably already married off to some woman like out of those mangas that he used to steal from Kiku’s stash in the student council room in high school, and he probably has a whole bunch of kids that have his same big bushy eyebrows and inability to cook anything remotely edible.”

 

Gilbert opened his mouth to make a retort about how Arthur’s cooking hadn’t been entirely that bad--he could make some delicious tarts and pastries whenever he actually tried and didn’t get sidetracked by other people being around and bothering him while he cooked--but before the German had a chance to be able to complain to his friends, another voice with a very familiar British accent decided to speak up at the same time.

 

“Sod off, you bloody Spaniard. My cooking is perfectly brilliant, and you would’ve known it if you hadn’t always been so busy sticking your tongue down Francis’s throat all throughout college to be unable to actually taste anything besides wine and regret,” the Brit snapped, hands balled into fists that were resting on his hips.

 

“Ah, I’d like to think that it was mostly wine and chocolate, but I can certainly say that those scones were what I regret eating the most,” Antonio shot back with a grin, head tilted to the side.

 

“And furthermore,” Arthur continued, mostly ignoring the brunette with a small glare sent in his direction, “would you two stop harassing this poor lad and spreading rumours around? It’s in bad taste and poor manners when this is supposed to be a happy occasion for Alfred and Ivan. So if you two don’t bugger off and get back to your stations where you’re supposed to be about to serve the cake for everyone, then I’d hate to have to get Ivan’s younger sister involved, and you know how she feels about anyone ruining her brothers’ wedding.”

 

“It’s quite alright, Arthur. We were just going there now after we reconnected with our dear friend here. Not that you’d remember him, of course. C’est la vie,” Francis murmured, already tugging Antonio away into the crowd before waving over his shoulder at Gilbert. “We’ll see you later, mon chou. Try not to be too hard on him.”

 

Arthur let out a sigh, pressing a hand to his forehead. “Those two…” Clearing his throat, the blonde turned to Gilbert, offering him a small apologetic smile. “Anyways, I feel like I must apologize for the two of them. They can be...quite the rowdy bunch, especially together. I hope they weren’t causing you too much trouble.”

 

Gilbert snorted, a wide grin on his face as he glanced at Arthur, taking in the Englishman’s appearance. Familiar emerald green eyes, and of course the rather bushy eyebrows, though they didn’t seem nearly as bad as everyone seemed to joke about when they were back in school together. Other than that though, all of the young boyish charm was mostly gone, replaced instead by a more mature masculine stature, yet still as handsome as ever in Gilbert’s eyes. Seemed like they both had grown into their bodies and became a bit more comfortable. “Nein, nein. No trouble at all. We were actually fairly good friends quite a ways back when we were younger, so I’m a bit used to their antics, especially in high school. Makes you feel young again, in a way, ja?”

 

“Ah, yes. Yes, I suppose so…” Arthur muttered, trailing off in thought before crossing his arms and looking Gilbert over as the two of them stepped outside onto the terrace, the cool night air offering soothing relief from the reception hall that was beginning to feel rather stuffy after so long inside, coupled with the heat of the alcohol in their systems. “Say… You said that you were close with them in high school, but I don’t ever recall seeing you at our school. Someone similar perhaps… Your eyes and hair colour certainly look familiar, but… Pardon, but what did you say your name was again? I don’t think I quite caught it.”

 

Holding out a hand, Gilbert’s grin only seemed to widen. “Beilschmidt. Gilbert Beilschmidt. I’m Ludwig’s older brother,” he stated, his chest puffing up with a bit of pride from the mention of his younger brother.

 

Nodding slightly, Arthur took the extended hand in his own, a small hum rising in his throat. “Well, the last name is certainly familiar, but I don’t ever recall seeing or hearing of a Gilbert. The only older sibling that I’ve heard of Ludwig having was a sister named Julchen, but then everybody seemed to end up never mentioning her again, which is a shame because I’ve always been wondering what had ended up happening to her, so I’m not quite sure if she ended up dying or…”

 

Arthur’s eyebrows scrunched together into a small scowl when he was interrupted by Gilbert’s laughter, the German having to lean against one of the beams to support himself.

 

“What? What’s so funny?”

 

Wiping the stray tears from his eyes, the albino beamed at the Brit. “Arthur… That’s me. Or well, _was_ me, since I’ve kind of…” Gilbert waved a hand to gesture at his whole body. “Changed into a new me, that’s a thousand times more awesome,” he stated with a wink, Arthur’s jaw dropping.

 

“Wait, you-- You actually--”

 

“Yeah, I used to be a girl but it never felt right, so I’m a guy now,” Gilbert explained, rubbing the back of his neck with a bit of a sheepish grin. “I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. Don’t ya think?”

 

Clearing his throat, Arthur nodded, a pleased smile tugging at his lips. “Yes, you certainly look…” His voice trailed off as he slowly took in Gilbert’s appearance with renewed interest and appreciation. “Quite dashing and handsome, if I do say.”

 

“Ah? What was that? I don’t think I quite heard you over the music,” Gilbert teased, though there was a pleased flush on his cheeks.

 

Snorting, Arthur rolled his eyes, giving Gilbert’s shoulder a gentle shove. “Shut up, you git. I know you heard me… Just like how I happened to hear earlier that you had a crush on me in high school that you never told me about.”

 

“Ahaha… Remind me to kick Toni and Fran’s asses later for bringing that back up,” the albino muttered sheepishly, sending a small glare to the ground, though he quickly looked up when he heard the distinct sound of Arthur’s laughter.

 

“I will gladly remind you. Though perhaps… After we end up getting a dance and drink together?”

 

Gilbert blinked owlishly at the hand that was soon held out to him. “Wait, you mean, like a date?”

 

A smirk tugged at the corners of the Brit’s lips. “Yes, well, obviously. It may have been fifteen years ago, but unless you have anything better to do right now, I find that it could be quite interesting to see where it may lead, and what tickles each other’s fancies. Besides, I doubt that anyone would likely notice too much that we’ve managed to slip away. Of course, we’ll be missing most of the cake, but--”

 

“Yes!” Gilbert blurted out, his arms quick to wrap around the emerald-eyed Englishman in a tight hug before pulling back with a sheepish grin. “I mean, I would like to. Go on a date with you.”

 

“Good,” Arthur murmured, pressing a light kiss to the back of Gilbert’s hand. “I’m looking forward to it.”


End file.
